Chinese telecom company is given permission to build noncritical parts of the network, despite security concerns
LONDON—The U.K. government has given the green light for Huawei Technologies Co. to build part of its next-generation 5G cellular network, dismissing calls from the Trump administration to boycott the Chinese telecom-equipment vendor over security fears.
The government said Huawei would be given permission to build noncritical parts of the country’s 5G network. Britain’s National Security Council concluded that the security risks the Chinese company presented could be managed. Huawei officials have repeatedly denied claims that its equipment could be used by the Chinese state to spy on countries or incapacitate key infrastructure.
The decision is a major setback for American-led efforts to clamp down on the use of Huawei products, and could embolden other countries to follow the U.K.’s lead. Germany is expected to make a decision on whether to allow Huawei to build sections of its own 5G network later this year.
U.S. officials visited London recently to reiterate their fears that the use of Huawei would strengthen China’s attempt to gain a stranglehold on the global telecom-equipment market. In recent days, President Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have warned U.K. officials of the dangers of allowing telecom companies to use Huawei equipment.
The U.K. decision doesn’t give Huawei a full pass: It will ban the company’s equipment from centralized parts of the 5G infrastructure that route data across the network. Instead, Huawei will only be allowed to provide more peripheral equipment, such as base stations and antennae that connect the core to consumers’ devices, and is viewed as less of a security risk. It also limits the market share of Chinese company to no more than 35%.
wsj.com / balkantimes.press